Middle East.- Matcham (George) Journal [of a journey through Mesopotamia and Turkey], autograph

Middle East.- Matcham (George, traveller, 1753-1833) Journal [of a journey through Mesopotamia and Turkey], autograph manuscript, 23pp. excluding blanks, slightly browned, engraved bookplate of Nelson Matcham on inside of upper cover, original wrappers, upper cover slightly water-stained, sm. 4to, dated in text June 1783.*** “… went on till about nine & enter’d the Khore waited for the slave girls the Khore infested with Mosquitos… . …. in the morning arrived at a small village rest ourselves leave the Effendi & passing thro a mountainous country arrived at Siraz – It is remarkable that there is not a single wood to be seen from Baghdad to Sivas, there are tall trees like Aspins to be seen in the gardens & villages – met with tombs of Tartars killed near Sivaz along the cliffs roads… .” – Matcham.On this journey Matcham has travelled along the Euphrates river through the Ottoman Empire, to Baghdad, Mosul, to Jurzeera [al-Jazira], Mardan City [Mardin] ?Manatua, Siras, Boli [Bolu] and ends quite abruptly at ?Sendair.Matcham was a frequent traveller between England and India, making the journey overland on several occasions. “He normally crossed the desert on horseback, either alone or in the company of other Europeans, and accompanied by Arab guides and servants. Accounts of these journeys were said to appear in James Capper's Observations on the Passage to India (1783) and Eyles Irwin's Voyage up the Red Sea (1780; 3rd edn, 1787, 2 vols.) but Matcham's precise route is difficult to establish from these sources.” – Oxford DNB.Nelson Matcham (1811-86), grandson of the above George Matcham.